ALMEIDA VS. GRANT HEADED TO UFC 124

Welterweights Ricardo Almeida and T.J. Grant have agreed to meet at UFC 124 in Montreal, as a part of the undercard for the UFC’s upcoming return to Canada.

The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight on Wednesday. The fight was first announced by Sportsnet.ca on Wednesday as well.

After making the move to 170lbs earlier in the year, Ricardo Almeida (12-4) was looking to make a run towards the welterweight title, but had his hopes derailed a bit when he fell to former UFC champion Matt Hughes in early August.

Looking to bounce back strong, Almeida will return to action in December and look for his second welterweight win as he gets back on track in the division.

Speaking to MMAWeekly.com, Almeida’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz stated that Almeida’s ultimate goal to remain in the sport of MMA is to become a UFC champion, and he’ll try to start that mission again when he faces Canadian T.J. Grant on his home soil.

With a record of 16-4, Canada’s own T.J. Grant has had a few ups and downs during his time with the UFC going 3-2 overall. Bouncing back and forth between wins and losses, Grant will look to build on the momentum of his last fight, a unanimous decision victory over Julio Paulino, at UFC 119 in late September.

Both Almeida and Grant have strong grappling background, so stylistically the fight could end up being a ground war between the two mat technicians.

There has been no work if the fight between Almeida and Grant will make the main televised card for UFC 124 or not. The card will be headlined by Montreal native Georges St. Pierre defending his welterweight title against top contender and fellow “Ultimate Fighter” season 12 coach Josh Koscheck.